Greetings and salutations, prospective responder! I am course, a newbie. A noob. An unknown factor. An uphill 2 dice block against a dwarf blocker with +2 AV, Mighty blow and Shadowing. And like any good bothersome scrub I have a question!

Let the drumroll commence! Here it is!:
How would you rate the average, and highest, skill level of our here Fumbbl vs Cyanide's Blood Bowl series of videogames?

Do you think there more, or less, to be learned from coaches here than such Youtube darlings of the video game fandom; Knowledgable cKnoor, Crazy Crendor, Sagacious Mr Sage and of course the ever fantastic Jimmy Fabulous?

This is not a good way to get people's attention, unless you're of the sort who believes there's no such thing as bad press.

I don't know most of the individual coaches you've mentioned, and I'd like to point out that at any rate it isn't a competition, especially since many players are active on both.

That said, I am pretty sure the consensus is that the best players on Cyanide are on par with the best on FUMBBL, but that there are a greater number of skilled players on FUMMBL and a much higher average skill level.

And cross-platform competitions like the BB2 World Cup and the current ongoing Cross Platform Cup seem to bear that out.

Partly that's because CyanideBowl attracts a greater number of players, and a greater proportion of new or casual players - someone who goes to the trouble of finding FUMBBL and getting involved in the community here is likely more than casually interested in the game. And partly it's because the FUMBBL community is more active outside of the game, giving advice on forums and in discord, hosting guides on the site and actively reaching out to new coaches to help them learn and feel welcome.

These things exist in CyanideBowl communities too, but those are more "atomized" and limited to individual leagues.

I dunno about getting people's attention, I thought it was quite funny.

It is generally acknowledged that the average skill level is higher here than on BB2. The reasons for this are obvious if you think about it. Fumbbl is a niche community for Blood Bowl fans who want to play their favourite tabletop game online. BB2 is a computer game and is marketed as such. They have a much higher player number, and a much higher number of players who've never played before.

Now as to the very top coaches it's harder to say, but it is worth mentioning that both The_Sage and Jimmy_Fantastic played here for years before moving onto BB2 for the streaming dollar. While they were here they were very good players, but they weren't the best of the best.

you do realize that most of the coaches on your list there played on FUMBBL, right? There's quite a few coaches that play on both platforms, so nice trolling I guess. Also what about table-top...does the OP even realize it's a thing?

May I answer with a question? Who is the greater poet: Sappho or Shakespeare?

Personally, I lack sufficient knowledge of one to adequately frame an answer, and I'd really only be interested in listening to an answer with a beer in my hand. Grab a few drinks of your choice and spectate some games.... throw some rocks... cheer for your favorite. If you live spectate one of the larger tournament matches, you'll likely be able to converse with other like minded folks.

"Allowed"?! Since when has that been in the spirit of the game?!
As for shadowing, you have to get up sometime! If not, surely you are only guaranteeing your receiving a 'ground blitz'!

mrt1212 wrote:

How can we form an opinion on something we're mostly ignorant of, that being, what Cyanide coaches do?

I ask those who are not ignorant of it. But of course; all perpectives are appreciated, friend!

mister__joshua wrote:

both The_Sage and Jimmy_Fantastic played here for years before moving onto BB2 for the streaming dollar. While they were here they were very good players, but they weren't the best of the best.

Ah now this is the golden tooth wrestled from the head of the referee. Their stat points were distributed more equally across Skill and Charisma enough to profit from the available financial incentives.
And your argument about the nicheness of this against the more widely targeted mass market appeal of the video game is also compelling.
It seems I find myself among the elite! Sipping metaphorical champagne while laughing and jeering about the toiling and the ignorance of the great unwashed!
Kudos to you, Sir/Ma'am/Xir(?)/up to, including but limited to; all of the above!

Rbthma wrote:

make up your own mind

Ah but you forget: I am an awful player. I would attribute great skill to a coach blitzing my ball carrier with horns after I potato on a turn 3 offense!
And as for tabletop; the difficulty and physical requirements of travelling to and setting up a game and the time requirements necessary for manual rolling of dice likely means that there is a much greater time investment!
Less available time means less experience.
Not only that but the purpose of my question was not in seeking the absolute superlative! Only the highest of the two available to me.
As for the trolling remark; a troll is someone who says something inflammatory in the hopes of creating an argument among the forum regulars. I am much too selfish to be concerned about the repressed contents of fellow Blood Bowl players, as well as their disputes with one another.
As I have not fulfilled such requirements, your accusation was likely in the hopes of inciting a 'mobbing' or disciplinary action with a both unnecessary, and unfounded accusation.
I may not a be a funny comedian but the suggestion that licenses are required for attempts at levity, or that it is completely forbidden is a feature of the very worst kinds of authoritarianism.
With that; I assert that it is you, who is trolling.
And wish you; a good day, sir.

razmus wrote:

May I answer with a question? Who is the greater poet: Sappho or Shakespeare?

Shakespeare of course! What a question.
But hopefully we both, one day, find that answer. I wish you the very best in both beer and dice. And with any luck, not in the same bottle!

JackassRampant wrote:

Compared to BB2, we're a smaller pool stocked with a higher proportion of big fish.

Hopefully the small fish are not devoured too quickly!
I hope that for a friend, of course. She does love her Guppies.

To directly answer at least a couple of your examples, most experienced Fumbbl players I have heard rate Sage and Jimmy put them roughly 6-8 out of ten. Somewhere from slightly above average to pretty good. I have never once heard anybody say either one was an elite Fumbbl player during their time here.

The common opinion of the Blood Bowl community has been that Fumbbl has consistently been stocked with a higher percentage of good players than any other version of the game. Relative to Cyanide this opinion has changed from ten years ago "every single Cyanide player is terrible" to now "there are some good ones there but overall Fumbbl is still better."

Shifting now from "what is known" to my own personal opinion... it is that the reason people go to BB2 is primarily the same reason that some people who stay here cherrypick in ranked or min/max in box... because it's easier and they don't enjoy being challenged. The fantasy gamer community is just not a very competitive bunch, it's made of people who came up playing single player games that exist to validate the player, and most people who pick up this game expect that kind of experience. If they aren't winning all the time, their default reaction is to "turn down the difficulty" rather than try to improve. If there is an environment they can go to where they get better results, they find that more appealing.